Chiromancers

Harry Fellows was a decent man. Normally, a law-abiding citizen, but when he discovered he could obtain his “chirophoto” (a photo image of his hand) illegally, he didn’t hesitate one second.

In Harry’s world a “chirophoto” was the most important piece of identification, taken at birth, and again at twenty years old for every single citizen of earth. It was owned by the state, no citizen could possess this important piece of personal identification, and only highly trained Chiromancers were allowed to review and analyze the “chirophoto”, there were no exceptions. Private sessions were planned with the individuals at the age of 14 years, and again at 21 years of age. These sessions were the most important days in the life of all individuals on earth. An individual could be selected at 14 years or 21years of age to become a Chiromancer – it was the highest order one could achieve on earth.

Not only was Chiromancy the highest order on earth, but it was also seen within the entire global population as being the highest calling, the highest vocation, it ruled all the sciences, mathematics, and literature, it was the basic tenement of religion and philosophy, it dictated life itself.

The “chirophoto” was like an X-ray or a scan, and like all life determining examinations of the human form, it was treated with huge respect, diagnosis was crucial, specialists with the highest qualifications were summoned for further analysis and opinion, but the final diagnosis and conclusion had such profound implications of a person’s life. The lines of the heart, the head, the life line, the fate line, and career lines, were all examined to the most minute detail, and the conclusions were irreversible. The expression “it was in the palm of my hand” takes on a new meaning in this world.

A “chirophoto” was the most important visual paradigm on planet Earth.

On the surface, the world of the Chiromancy wasn’t any different from our world, there were people, men and women, boys, and girls, babies, families. Human beings were born into the world, and then they died, some were wealthy, some poor, and any level of prosperity in between. There was sickness, and good health, feelings of sadness and happiness were felt by all. People worked in all the same professions as our world, there was education, universities. Evolution continued at the same pace as our world. There was one single and important difference, and that was the unequivocal, law abiding, the blind following and acceptance of one profound and overruling truth in this world, the world of Chiromancy.

A Chiromancer in this world was held and perceived in the highest position in society.

A Chiromancer was only selected through their own prognosticatory art. In this world, it wasn’t defined as prognosticatory art, it was basic tenement of life, the future was woven into the fabric of the present, with a pronounced impact on every person’s lives, it defined all lives. The prognosis was defined by the “chirophoto”, with its lines, its dimensions, its appearance of mounds, and colourizations. All were taken into the diagnosis, during the 14th and 21st year of every single living person on the planet.

These private sessions with a panel of Chiromancers were the most daunting event imaginable. Society created celebrations around the event, it became a huge milestone in each person’s life. The private sessions were supposed to be confidential, between the individual and the assigned panel of Chiromancers, but most juveniles would be hard pressed not to reveal the conversations with their friends and family.

Bizarrely, the owners of the hands, the palms, were treated with indifference, unless the Chiromancers identified one of their own kind, amongst the millions of “chirophotos” they analyzed and studied each day. A young Chiromancer was something to behold and rejoice, and the individual was removed from school, and family and placed into an academic world solely focused on the art of chiro prognosis – with an aim to become a student of this prognosticatory profession for the rest of their lives.

The people of this world accepted the circumstances, and held the world of the Chiromancers, and the conclusions of the “chirophoto” as a fact of life, never to be questioned. The acceptance of the “chirophoto”, without dispute gave the people in this world, a level of comfort, knowing that from birth; the future destiny and fate of their lives were predetermined, their fate, their career, their love live, their health and well-being, even their lifespan whether short, medium or long, all was projected by the lines, the formation, the mounds, and appearance of the palm of their hands.

It was a comfortable feeling, to accept the conclusions of the Chiromancers, and then live a life in a fatalistic way.

Harry Fellows was different to the normal person in this accepting process in a fatalistic world. When he received his diagnosis at 14 years old, and again at 21 years old, it was an unaspiring report, except there were two highlights, which were the most important and dear to the heart of Harry. The first was the prognosis of his lifespan, a short 40 years, and the second that he would not find love until after he was 30 years old. Although Harry Fellows could be described as a decent, law-abiding citizen of this world, he was a sentimentalist, with romantic notions and ambitions. There was nothing more important in Harry’s world than finding his soulmate.

The conclusions of the Chiromancers had disappointed Harry, not so much the foretelling of a short lifespan, but not finding love until after he was 30 years old, this distressed Harry more than anything. He challenged the findings of the last session, when he was 21 years of age, based on the diagnosis of a short lifespan. He questioned the finding, based on his health record, which had been trouble free up until now, but secretly he wanted a reassessment of the entire reading, especially the prognosis report on his love life.

The reassessment came back with the same findings.

Most people in this world accept their fate. Not Harry. He wanted a copy of “chirophoto”, with the intent to diagnose the “chirophoto” himself. He didn’t consider himself an expert, he was no Chiromancer, but he was challenging his fate, his diagnosis, in a world, a society of passive acceptance. Under these circumstances, this made Harry Fellows exceptional.

Harry Fellows worked in the administration records of the department of Chiromancers. It was a responsible and high security position, keeping the files and records of all the citizens, especially the diagnosis reports, the interview reports, and the original copies of the “chirophotos”. With this position, Harry had the opportunity to gain access to his own record, and he took both advantage of his unique position and illicitly gained an illegal copy for himself.

He then studied the art of Chiromancy, the basics, even to a novice like himself, he discovered discrepancies between the “chirophoto”, and his actual hand palm. They were different, very different.

Based on this discovery, Harry Fellows had a dilemma. If he reported the difference, he would expose himself to his illegal act, not only with the loss of his job, but certain imprisonment. This world had no tolerance of deceit, cheating, it was a law-abiding world, a passive and accepting world, a fatalistic world.

Although Harry Fellows was angry with the discovery, he was angrier with the system, and being on the wrong end of injustice. When he started to think about the situation, he started to contemplate how useful the discovery had presented itself. It could be the catalyst to a new philosophical view of his life, and his future. He didn’t need the diagnosis, the societal endorsement of the Chiromancy regime, and how profoundly judgmental the “chirophotos” had governed the fates of the world. He felt the harness and solemn practice of fatalism being removed from his physiological shoulders.

With the discovery he felt a sense of freedom, forget about what the future holds, the Chiromancy regime, the prognosis, and live a life in the present, each single day.